Garden

So you mulch your lawn properly

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Author: John Stephens
Date Of Creation: 2 January 2021
Update Date: 1 July 2024
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Here’s Why You Should Mulch Your Lawn-The Key To Greener Grass
Video: Here’s Why You Should Mulch Your Lawn-The Key To Greener Grass

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Mulching not only provides the lawn with nutrients, it also saves labor when mowing the lawn

So you mulch your lawn properly

Again and again gardening friends ask: mulching or catching? Should you crush the grass clippings and distribute them on the surface, or rather dispose of them on the compost? The answer to this question is always tending towards mulching because it offers many benefits.

What does lawn mulching mean?

When mulching, the lawn is covered with a layer of not rotted organic material. For this, the plant remains are used, which are incurred in grass clippings. The crushed blades of grass remain on the mown surface and fall over time on the top soil layer. Here they are decomposed by microorganisms, beetles and earthworms, so that humus arises.

Tips

With a mulching mower, you make two steps in just one operation. The device crushes the blades of grass and then distributes them to the surface.


Why does it make sense to mulch the lawn?

Whether mulching is good or bad is often discussed controversially. Meanwhile, however, many disadvantages of mulching have been removed. If you mulch a surface regularly and properly, you will help your lawn to a vital health. It looks stronger and radiates in juicier shades of green than not mulched lawn. Mulching helps against weeds and moss as the sward develops more dense.

Mulching or mowing the lawn?

Some hobby gardeners swear by mulching. Other nature lovers stay with the lawn mowing and will probably never try mulching. There is no blanket answer, which method is more appropriate. The question of yes or no depends on the location and the type of soil. The lawn itself also determines whether mulching or mowing is more suitable.

While mulching is proving to be increasingly positive for the vitality of the lawn, mowing with a standard lawnmower is increasingly having to defend itself against numerous drawbacks. When mowing the lawn, the clippings are collected in a collection basket and composted. As a result, the area valuable nutrients are removed, which must be supplied by expensive fertilizers later. If you refrain from regular fertilization, the grass can not develop magnificently. The sward becomes gappy and unwanted mosses and plants spread on the surface.


These are the benefits of mowing:

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Which material is suitable for mulching?

For the lawn, the grass clippings are ideal for mulching due to their nature and the ingredients. If foliage has accumulated on the surface, you do not necessarily have to remove it. When mowing with a suitable device, the plant parts are shredded with the grass clippings and distributed on the surface. This combination improves the nutrient balance in the soil. Dropped twigs and pieces of bark and straw are not suitable for mulching lawns.

Tips

Caution is advised when picking up leaves from the road. The leaves may contain toxic heavy metals that accumulate in your lawn.

When should you mum?

In the spring, the lawn is mulched for the first time. It is important that the blades of grass have reached a certain length, so that you can not unnecessarily damage the plants and drive them out again. Also important is the weather. Choose a covered but dry day to work the lawn. This will save the plants stress due to heat.

Why a wet lawn is not mulched:

How often do you have to mulch?

After the first mulching, regular care measures are required. If you mow and mulch the surface at irregular intervals, too much clippings will remain on the surface. It can quickly lead to the formation of grass clumps, which affect the growth of plants in places negative. Therefore, it is necessary to mulch the lawn in the spring, summer and fall of a year at least 21 times. The ideal distance between the care measures is seven to eight days.


Lawn is mulched to the main growing season almost every week

quote: If you can watch the grass grow, it should mulch twice a week.

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Mulching saves time

In conventional mowing lawn gardeners have so far with 17 mowing days per year. Although you will have to work the area more often with additional mulching, you save time. Mulching can be done in 80 percent of the time, because when mowing you lose a lot of time by the regular emptying of the catcher. Researchers at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna have found this out in a long-term study.

So you mum right

To mulch the lawn properly requires not only the appropriate preparation but also regularity. If you take into account the sequence of measures within a season, you can enjoy a lush green lawn throughout the growing season.

Preparing for mulching

Wait until the grass slowly wakes up from hibernation. The blades of grass should have reached a length of seven to eight centimeters, until you mow it for the first time. If you take this action too soon, you will endanger the health of the lawn. The stems can easily be damaged and do not grow healthy anymore.

Too long you should also not wait with the first mowing, because then the mower comes even in the maximum adjustable cutting height through the lawn. Ideal for the first mowing is the period between March and April. The resulting clippings are disposed of so that the lawn gets enough light.

Scarify and fertilize

To make the mown grass grow faster, you can scarify it. This will remove weeds and turf so that the turf is better ventilated. Sprinkle some fertilizer on the lawn to cover the nutrient needs of the freshly growing plants. If necessary, you can additionally apply lime to the lawn if the pH value is no longer within the optimum range.

Sprinkle every two to three years:

cutting height

As soon as the blades of grass have reached a length of between six and eight centimeters again, you can drive the lawn with a mulching mower. Then set the cutting knife so that the plants are reduced by a third of their stature height. If your lawn is six inches high, you should cut it to three or four centimeters.

Tips

Never cut grasses shorter than three centimeters.

to water

Even mulched grass must be watered every now and then. However, the lawn sprinkler should be turned on only once a week, so that the mulch layer does not wet too much. If there is no rainfall over a long period of time, so that the ground dries out slowly, you should water the lawn two to three times a week, depending on the intensity of the heat wave. So that the soil is thoroughly moistened, you should run the lawn sprinkler for at least half an hour.

Mulching later in the year

After the first mulching in the year, the grass should have grown again to a certain height before the next care measure is carried out. The location plays an important role here. The more sun shining on the lawn, the lower the blades of grass may be before re-cutting. As a rule of thumb, for sunny areas an optimal height of six centimeters applies. On shady grass, the blades of grass should have grown about eight inches high.

Which devices are suitable for mulching?

There are many devices that are suitable for mulching. The robotic lawnmower has proved to be unbeatable because it works continuously and independently. But since it can not be used without restriction on all surfaces, many hobby gardeners have to resort to other devices.

Mulching with reel mower

A reel mower works with knife spindles in which four to six blades are horizontally arranged and bent. The device is operated by hand and works without electricity and gasoline. As soon as you set the reel mower in motion, the spindle rotates and slides past a stationary counterblade. If a blade of grass gets caught between the blades, it is severed. The devices have no catch basket, so that the cut blades of grass immediately land on the lawn.

This distinguishes the reel mower:

mulching mower

In these devices, the grass clippings are not collected in a catcher. Mulching mowers have two cutting units. They mow the blades of grass and then grind them using specially shaped blades. Some models have mulching blades with multiple cutting edges arranged at different levels. In a mulchbell, the air flow, which swirls the cut grass blades. This ensures that the plant parts are cut several times and optimally shredded. The fine remains are incorporated into the turf during mowing.

Mulching kit for normal lawnmowers

Depending on the manufacturer, you can upgrade various mowers with a mulching kit. Most kits contain special mulching blades that are exchanged for the normal blades in the lawn mower. Some kits also include a plastic container. After the special blades have been installed, you can use the lawnmower with or without a grass catcher.

To mulch the lawn directly with the mowing, the catcher is omitted. You remain flexible and can use the lawnmower in its original function with collecting basket. Here, too, the mulchers prove to be advantageous, because the grass volume is reduced considerably by the comminution.

Lawn Mower

The little helpers prove to be perfect tools for mowing and mulching at the same time. The mowing interval can be adjusted manually depending on the model. The distances between the mowing units should not be too large, because the robotic lawnmower quickly reaches its limits when grass is too tall. The blades only cut off the tips of the grass blades, causing them to fall to the ground, creating an ideal mulch layer. Due to the small size of the cuttings a quick decomposition is guaranteed.

Good to know:

frequently asked Questions

When do I have to mulch my freshly sown lawn?

When to mulch your newly created lawn for the first time depends on many factors such as the time of sowing, the light source and the type of lawn. The stalk height is a good guideline for orienting yourself. Sports and play lawns are mulched for the first time from a height of 70 to 80 millimeters. Ornamental lawns may grow 80 to 85 millimeters high. When creating a new shade lawn, the grasses should be between 90 and 100 millimeters high.

When do I have to water my lawn after mulching?

At the latest when the wilting point sets in, you should water your lawn. They recognize this when the leaves of the grasses slowly curl up and fade.

Is it true that mulching stifles the grass?

This prejudice has now been refuted. Studies have shown that the soil organisms under a mulch layer are 40 percent more active. Mulching therefore increases the respiratory effort in the uppermost soil layer.

Can I mulch my lawn despite the weeds?

Mulching helps against weeds, because the fine layer of organic materials robs the seeds of light germination. Against mushrooms, the mulching is only correct implementation. An oversupply of nitrogen and water promotes fungal growth.

Can I mulch the lawn without special equipment?

If you cut the lawn with a standard lawnmower and catch the clippings, you should not spread it directly on the surface. Often the lawn cut is too coarse and already clumped. Let the material rot on the compost.

Do I have to fertilize the lawn after mulching?

Normally, the lawn does not need to be fertilized additionally, as the grass clippings are decomposed and the nutrients get into the soil. However, fresh composting does not hurt the lawn.